Biological Monitoring of Environment Exposure to Safrole and the Taiwanese Betel Quid Chewing

Abstract

A rapid and sensitive biological monitoring (BM) method for assessing exposure to the environmental carcinogen safrole has been developed. The method is an isocratic high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) analysis of urinary dihydroxychavicol (DHAB) and eugenol, the urinary metabolites of safrole. Good linearity, precision, and accuracy were demonstrated. A recovery of 98.8 +/- 5.4% (SD, n = 3) was found for DHAB and 84.1 +/- 3.4% (n = 3) for eugenol. The quantitation limits of the method were 8 ng for DHAB and 10 ng for eugenol. The validity of the method was demonstrated by a linear dose-response relationship observed in rats given oral doses of safrole at 30, 75, and 150 mg/kg body weight. The method was also used to monitor the environmental exposure to the Taiwanese betel quid (TBQ) chewing, because TBQ used in Taiwan not only contains areca (betel) nut, slaked lime, and catechu but also Piper betle inflorescence or its leaves. Both of the latter have a high content of safrole. The feasibility of the method to monitor TBQ chewing was demonstrated by an analysis of 153 spot human urine samples. The results showed that the p value of the nonparametric group comparison was < 0.001 for DHAB and 0.832 for eugenol. The TBQ chewers also exhibited a significantly higher rate of urinary DHAB (but not eugenol) than the nonchewers with an odd ratio of 3.47 (95% CI, 1.61-7.51). However, when only the eugenol-positive subjects were taken into analysis, the ratio rose to 24.38 (95% CI, 3.00-197.90).

Effect of aqueous extracts of Mentha arvensis (mint) and Piper betle (betel) on growth and citrinin production from toxigenic Penicillium citrinum

“…P. betle is a common vine belonging to the family piperaceae. The leaf has been reported to contain polyphenols and flavonoids (Maisuthisakul et al 2007), Safrole, chavicol (Chang et al 2002), β carotene and α tocopherol (Azuine and Bhide 1992).…”

Induction of micronuclei in buccal mucosa on chewing a mixture of betel leaf, areca nut and tobacco

“…Regular chewing of betel quid has several adverse effects on the oral cavity and upper digestive tract, including inflammation, development of white or gray patches on the tongue and buccal mucosa, and oral cancer. Betel leaf contains large amounts of a carcinogen called safrole, which is readily metabolized and excreted in urine as dihydroxychavicol and eugenol (2). Areca nut and betel quid chewing lead to oral sub-mucous fibrosis, a painful, disabling and potentially precancerous condition of the oral mucosa.…”

Anatomical subsite discrepancy in relation to the impact of the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and betel quid on esophageal cancer

“…23 The Piper Betel Linn inflorescence, another important and aromatic flavored ingredient frequently added to the areca nut products in Taiwan, contains a high concentration of safrole (15.35 mg/g). 24 Genotoxic effects of betel-specific safrole on tissues from oral and EC patients have been demonstrated. 25,26 In certain areas of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, where betel quid chewing was identified as being a significant risk factor for EC, 14,22,27,28 areca nut was habitually chewed mixed with tobacco.…”